Damned if you Do, Damned if You Don't
by KleioVerity
Summary: (Alternative endings to "Hellmouths are for Lovers", so you might want to read that first.) Zachariah has Dean backed into a corner, and he must make an impossible choice regarding Buffy's fate. Of course, it all hinges on his answer to Michael.


_While these are some remarkable characters I would love to take credit for, I don't own them-I just like playing God with them._

A/N: Thanks again to anyone who followed and reviewed "Hellmouths are for Lovers". Here are two alternative endings I debated over using in the original story. But, even though I decided against it, they were too perfectly _Whedonesque_ to not use somehow. Even if you have not read the original, they could still work as stand alones, but it will make a lot more sense, and be SO MUCH MORE HEART WRENCHING if you read HafL. The following scenes take place right after Sam kills Buffy at St. Mary's and Castiel, too weak to get everyone to safety if he resurrects Buffy, blinks them to the Bunker. Enjoy, and please review.

* * *

It was over, and Dean should have been able to take comfort in that. The burden of the Slayer was laden with loneliness and guilt and sacrifice—far more than _one girl in all the world_ should ever be asked to carry. Wringing his hands just to have something for them to do besides bludgeoning Castiel or the nearest available wall, sitting in the semi-darkness of the Bunker, Dean's eyes never left the broken, lifeless body that was laid out on the table in front of him. He wanted to take comfort in the fact that she must be in Heaven, but under the circumstances, that was the worst place she could possibly be right now.

He had been processing all the possible plans they could execute. He was convinced there was some way to resurrect her that did not involve bargains with demons or favors from Angels. Willow had done it before after all, but the summoning object they needed had been destroyed in the process. While the others toiled away in the Bunker library—Willow had practically had an orgasm when she saw it— researching, experimenting, and calling in favors, Dean felt the best thing he could do was to stay out of the way.

"You know what I love about you… well, all humans really?" The last voice Dean wanted to hear right now reverberated throughout the room, the speaker just out of his sight, "You're as predictable as a prime time sitcoms. You fall into patterns, making the same bad decisions over and over and over, even when you know better. It's adorable."

Dean was overly fucking tired of the sound of this douchebag's voice.

"It's that headstrong, do or die attitude that I find so endearing about you, Deano."

Stepping out of the shadows, Zachariah moved to the table, circling Buffy, running a finger along Buffy's exposed arm. The bastard.

"But, do you really think that's a coincedence? A random happenstance that you feel this unrelenting burden to carry the world on your shoulders? To take up upon yourself to fix mistakes? To sacrifice yourself to spare the pain of others?"

He wasn't really listening anymore—he was hoping if he concentrated hard enough, Zachariah's head would spontaneously combust.

No dice.

"That's all by design, Dean. We built you to be the perfect vessel," Zach's face contorted, twirling a length of Buffy's long blonde hair around his finger.

"Get your hands off my girl," Dean growled, his burgeoning anger making him unable to bite his tongue any longer.

Zach dropped the strand, "Unfortunately, there's that nasty technical glitch concerning your hang up with collateral damage," spreading his hands wide to emphasize Buffy.

"Technical glitch…You mean my humanity? The one thing that I got that you don't—that God denied you," Dean sneered, "Damn, it's gotta make your blood boil to know we're His favorites."

"Do you honestly think if God gave two ethereal shits about anything or anyone, he would be a bystanding while his progeny destroyed each other?" Zach raised a brow, "The only thing God made in His image were absentee fathers… but, you know that better than anyone, don't you, Dean?"

"You already know my answer, so can we skip to the part where you fuck right off?"

"You've got balls, kid. I'll give you that much, but look…" Zach approached, hands up in surrender, "All this macho posturing—it's getting exhausting. So, I'm going to make this real simple— there are only two ways you're going to see Buffy ever again, and the only one that ends happy for everyone is the one where you say yes to Michael."

"See, I'm starting to think either your brain damaged, or just bad with short term memory, so maybe you better pull my file: I don't do ultimatums."

"It's not an ultimatum, Dean. It's a warning."

"Funny how to you dicks _warnings_ sound a lot like _threats_."

"Buffy's Heavenside, and that's where she is going to stay. So, if you say yes, when the curtain drops on closing night of the Apocalypse, you get to spend the big happy with your soul mater in Heaven. But, the only way she is ever going to leave Heaven is if you get her out. Now, experience tells me you already got the minions working on that, so know this— if you rip Buffy out, she's out, permanently. Forever."

"Bullshit!" Dean shouted, even though he felt his stomach lurch, "You might be Top Dick in Heaven, but you don't have that power."

"Try me," Zach's smarmy smile made Dean feel greasy, "I don't care if she bites it saving a bus full of puppies and Special Needs kids being driven by the Pope. If you get her out, she's headed South when she finally punches out, end of story."

"Well," Dean sighed, unsheathing Castiel's Angel sword from inside his jacket, "I guess that just gives me one more reason to gank your ass."

"Doesn't matter if I'm alive or not, Dean. She's already on the no-fly list, and I have a legion of loyal Angels who will follow my command even after my death," Zach took a seat on the edge of the table next to Buffy directly in Dean's field of vision, "So, if your plan is to resurrect her, more power to you. I'll even tell you a spell that works in a pinch. But, do it knowing that getting back your girlfriend means condemning her soul to hell… that is, unless, you come to your senses and realize it's time to accept your _real_ destiny."

It was an impossible choice, and to be honest it tore at Dean. He felt the sword go a slack in his hand, and his eyes dropped to the floor. His entire life he had operated under the approach that there was always another way—a way to fix a mistake, a way to save everybody, a way to make a wrong right even if that meant it came at a cost of his own life. As much as he hated to admit it, Zach was right about that, but at least he knew in his heart that was not because he was made to be Michael's vessel—it was because he had been designed to be the Slayer's champion. That was his real destiny. All he had to do was bring her back, and if she slammed the Gates shut, she could never end up in hell… right? Would she end up trapped in Purgatory? Would she end up somewhere worse?

Zachariah had him backed into a corner.

"What's it going to be, Dean?"


End file.
